First of all, I want to thank my good friends who read the first few chapters of this story and instantly told me I should upload it. I really don't see myself as a good writer but they gave me a lot of confidence. I had this Story in my head for a while now, after reading some amazing stories on here. This is a NaruHina story.
This is a story that focuses on Slice of life in the first bit, with fights after that. I didn't like How the whole romance aspect got handled with Naruto: The Last and thats why I decided to write my own Story of the blank period in Naruto.
Rated M to be safe!
Have fun reading this! Although I hate that it must be said, but this a FanFicition. If you don't like it, don't read it. Reviews appreciated!
As always, all rights belong to Masashi Kishimoto.
Naruto: Interlude
Chapter 1 Beginnings
Konohagakure. It has been one week after everyone's return to their respective Villages and Homes. It was a cool October morning with the sun being blocked by a grey overcast.
"SASUKEEEEEE!" – "NARUTOOOO!"
Naruto opened his eyes again, looking to his right. No arm there.
'These daydreams have to stop.' He thought to himself.
He had been in the Konoha hospital for some time now, nobody being allowed to see him yet though. Strict orders from the Sixth. "Kakashi Sensei… He really made it huh..." He muttered silently to himself.
But today was the day. Today he would leave this godforsaken bed.
Naruto hated hospitals, even though it might seem he spent half of his life in one of its beds. That would never change.
The door opened. A nurse entered and smiled at him. "Alright Naruto-san, it's time to change that bandage of yours one last time before you can go!" She said with much enthusiasm, but Naruto was not convinced. But he could not get anywhere, so he let it happen to him.
He stared at her while she changed his bandage at his right arm. It really freaking hurt. While no bandage was applied, he could see his stub of an arm. He cringed, but then looked out of the window with a more confident face. 'I'm gonna be Hokage no matter what! Even without my right arm!' He motivated himself, like he did many times before.
He thought about his friends being okay, but then he realized there was nothing to worry about. "Whats wrong?" another voice asked him. Looking to the other side of the room, Naruto saw the new sixth Hokage standing there. "Kakashi sens… I mean Kakashi-sama!" He looked to him while offering his brightest smile to his old Sensei.
"Since when so formally? You can still call me your Sensei Naruto. I really don't like getting called like that by my friends." The sixth Hokage told Naruto with a stern looking face. "Oh yeah right, today is the day." Kakashi now moved a bit closer to Naruto. "All your new big fans are waiting outside, I bet you're gonna have lots of fun going outside of this place."
Hearing that, Naruto stayed silent. "Fans…?" feeling flustered and blushing a little.
"Please Kakashi-Sensei… you must help me! I just wanna go home… It's been a long time since I last been to my tiny home!"
Kakashi just grinned, although nobody could see it under his mask, and gave him a thumbs up.
"Understandable Naruto, im gonna escort you home, we'll end our little conversation there."
"Uh… Hokage-sama… sorry for the interruption... but… You think he's ready?" The nurse asked him in a serious tone.
"He is. Naruto's a tough bitch."
"EYY don't call me a bitch, I will be the one surpassing you and all those Hokage before you, Believe it!"
Naruto was now on his feet, not realizing he still had his Hospital clothes on.
"Well… First you gotta change." Kakashi coldly replied, not being bothered by his statement.
'Same old Naruto…'
Using the window as an exit, the two had no problem dodging the people waiting outside of the hospital for him. Seeing all those people, Naruto got thoughtful. 'I feel kinda bad leaving those people standing there…'
Kakashi soon noticed his odd behaviour. Generally spoken Naruto wasn't the kind of person looking into himself too much. 'This generation is certainly growing into adults… even Naruto… Well after all he has seen and after all he endured to be here, I think that is inevitable.'
"Relax. It's not like you will disappear out of thin air sometime soon, they can thank you soon enough." He told his old student, giving him his typical U-eyed face.
The two hopped from roof to roof, at the same speed. Thanks to the Kyuubi, Naruto was almost completely fit again, missing one limb though.
Landing in front of his home, Kakashi gave Naruto his apartment keys. Absolutely excited Naruto rammed the key into the Lock and turned it over, pushing the door open to be absolutely amazed.
"It's all tidied and not Dusty!" He exclaimed with wide eyes, jumping through his two rooms.
'I guess it was Konohamaru again… man I gotta repay him again!" Naruto smiled wildly thinking that, but also having the bad memory of repaying Konohamaru in his mind. 'I don't know what I could do though… I don't think free Ramen will get me out of this one again.'
"So what did you wanna talk about Kakashi-Sensei? Because I have no clue what that could be that is so important." Naruto mumbled the last part under his breath.
"Clueless as always huh…? Well think. I wanted to talk to you about your arm and your future as a Shinobi of the Hidden leaf of course. Also I think this conversation will take us a while to finish, so let's sit down" Kakashi chuckled after seeing the typical persona of his hot-headed pupil, gesturing to the one table standing in his tiny apartment before both sat down.
"What about my arm? Ohhh! You mean that one! Still… What about it?" Naruto tilted his head, trying to cross his arms… but surprisingly unable to do so.
Kakashi painfully watched his student before starting to explain his sudden talk interest.
"Well you see… We have to work something out before your new prosthetic arm is ready. This will take another Month at least, according to Tsunade-sama and Sakura. But you are a Shinobi, which means I demand that you train to fight one-handed. It's also a good security if that new arm of yours will cause any problems to you. I know your fighting style does not rely on Hand-signs, which is a good thing in your case now, but I think it will still be quite tough for you." Kakashi looked at Naruto with a serious demeanour before looking to Naruto's right outside the window, seemingly spaced away.
'Relying on no hand-signs like his father… The similarities between those two are so evident, yet at the same time he's like his dear mother. I wonder what he will be up to in the future after winning us this war…'
Looking at Naruto again after shaking his head and getting the thoughts of Naruto's parents out of his mind space, Kakashi continued. "Learning one handed hand-signs will also improve you on your way as a Ninja. So to sum it up, I want you to learn one handed hand-signs and on your one handed taijutsu and overall combat techniques before I make you a Jonin."
"I know Kakashi-sensei! Training is…. WAIT WHAT DID YOU SAY?" Naruto shouted at his old sensei, being completely taken aback by his last exclamation.
"I said you need to train these things before making Jonin. Oh right. You couldn't know. Well… me and my new advisor, which you know very well, have decided to make you a Jonin. I think it's completely reasonable and as the new Hokage it is my duty to do so for the sake of the village." Kakashi stated coolly, again making his U-eyed face.
"But I'm not even Chunin yet! Do I have to take the exams next time again for that?! I promise you I won't disappoint you Believe it!" Naruto jumped on Kakashi being excited as all hell hearing that out of his mouth, finally getting steps closer to being Hokage.
"All right relax… RELAX!" Kakashi pushed Naruto off him, not liking his old students jumpy and comfy behaviour on him.
"No you don't need to take these exams. But listen carefully Naruto. I want you to tell nobody what I just said to you. This is serious business. And I still want you to train as hard as possible, are we clear?"
"Absolutely Kakashi-sensei! I won't tell anyone and you can count on me with the training! Believe me!" Naruto's face got serious out of a sudden.
"How about the stability of the Village? And how about the new deals with the other villages? Is everything getting along?" He asked Kakashi in a serious tone.
"Huh? Where does this come from now?" Kakashi frowned at Naruto.
"Anyway, to answer your questions. We lost many people in this huge war as you may know, so it is going along rather slowly. Reparations in the Village are finishing up though. And concerning the other villages… we have concluded our terms for now. We will be meeting on a conference again soon though. The reason I'm telling you this secret information is that you will go alongside me." Kakashi revealed sighing after.
"Politics? Me? Sensei, I'm flattered but do you think it's a great idea?" Naruto gave Kakashi a puzzled discouraged look, the thought of sitting together with all Kage lying heavy on him.
"As a matter of fact, I do. I know that your ideals stem from Jiraiya-sama and live on inside you, so I think our best shot is to include you in those negotiations." Kakashi concluded his argument pointing at Naruto's heart talking about his deceased Master.
Now looking down, Naruto remembered his Master's words about peace and hate, before standing up and looking at Kakashi with a stern face and look.
"There is too much hate in this world. Ero-sennin made me the great gift to make sure everyone on this planet can understand each other and to get rid of that Hate! Thank you Kakashi-sensei, that is indeed the reason I trained and fought so hard!" He gave him a thumbs up and gave him a wide grin like always.
"Alright… It seems were done he-"
"Wait!" Naruto exclaimed before Kakashi could get up and leave him to himself.
"What about Sasuke?" He asked Kakashi with slight concern in his voice.
"What about him? He is a traitor and will be dealt with accordingly." Kakashi got serious again. "Although he ended the war together with you and sealed Kaguya away for all eternity, he still cannot be trusted."
"Kakashi-sensei, I understand but as you said, the war is only over because of Sasuke's help! I couldn't have done it without him. Did you already deal with him without me?" Naruto pouted.
"Well he is in a comfy cell right now. His hearing will be in a few days time. It is my responsibility as Hokage and as his old sensei to deal with him… although you reaction tells me you wanna participate in that hearing? Fine. Don't forget to be punctual." Kakashi said before leaving in a puff, telling Naruto he spoke with a clone all along.
"PFF. Typical Kakashi-sensei style." Naruto said still pouting, angry at his old sensei for only sending a clone to meet up with him and talk to him.
Naruto still standing from the conversation, moved over to his bedroom. There was a letter on his nightstand. Curious over what that might be, Naruto moved over, throwing himself on his bed, almost losing balance landing because he still wasn't used to only have one arm free to use.
Laying down he reached for the letter beside him and opened it.
Dear Naruto
We heard… No everybody heard what happened during the last battle of the War. We're really proud to call you our friend and long time costumer, so see our present as a praise for the great hero that ended the fourth shinobi world war. Fukasaku and his Wife helped us with it, so we sure hope you enjoy it! And We're really sorry this letter couldn't be any longer, but were better cooks then Writers. We hope to see you in our Restaurant soon!
Love
Teuchi and Ayame
"A Present!? Where?" A more than excited Naruto shouted as he got up and looked around.
He saw something red hanging over a stool that stood in his bedroom. He moved over to closely inspect it and saw it was a cloak.
"This is the red cloak I wore during the battle with pain… I wonder how…?" A confused Naruto asked himself before he noticed it wasn't exactly the same cloak. The appearance resembled a Hokage's cloak, in red and with black flames on the end of his sleeves and on the end of its length. The Kanji Symbol for 'Oil' of Mount Myōboku was on its back, the same his old Master had on his forehead protector. The Big scroll he wore during the fight with pain was standing next to wall to his right aswell.
Before putting these things on though he had to put on the new clothes he never had a chance of wearing before he left to train with Killerbee.
He was now standing in front oh his Mirror with his new attire. An orange t-shirt with the Uzumaki insignia on it's front, his new Jacket which was black like his old one came with the orange coloring outlining the lower end completely (Ofc having the Uzumaki Symbol on its back and his left sleeve) and his new baggy pants which were now completely black. His sandals didn't change.
He inspected himself in the mirror before putting on his new cloak and his Big Red scroll.
Without saying a word, he gave himself a thumbs up.
"Soon I'm gonna wear a Jonin flak jacket on top of that Hehe!" He motivated himself before undressing his new cloak and scroll, putting them inside his wardrobe.
He took his keys and moved outside.
"It's time for some Ramen!" He shouted before waddling to his favourite restaurant. The time now being close to noon.
Same Village, same morning
The sound of her alarm clock waking her, Hinata Hyuuga opened her eyes.
She sat up, rubbed her eyes and yawned.
'8:30 in the morning… When was the last time I got this much sleep?' The Hyuuga thought to herself, grimacing over the fact that this might be the last time in a long time until she could sleep that long again again.
She lay her head back down again, laying back on her more than comfy pillow.
'Today is the day Naruto is coming out of the hospital… I wonder if he's okay again…' She silently asked herself, seeing Naruto losing his right arm she worried herself sick.
'Maybe I should check up on him once he is back… and speak some with him?' Thinking about talking with Naruto made her Blush and fill her with excitement.
With now being fully awake having these thoughts, she stood up. She noticed she forgot to hide the book she read last night, now blushing again.
"If father ever found out…" She quietly said to herself before she moved the second book of Jiraiya-sama's famed Icha-Icha franchise (Icha-Icha Violence) to her personal hiding stash which is located in her wardrobe. Four books were inside there, together with some cinnamon candies and other stuff she hid from her family.
Getting back at the tasks at hand, she looked at her full body mirror on her wall for a few seconds, before starting to get ready for a new day.
Now having her same old clothes on she wore all the time and having her hair made, she got out of her room. She walked through the big Hyuuga estate, making a hold at her family's eating room, where all sorts of breakfast food were still on the table.
After eating some breakfast, she was ready to go out.
The first thing on her list was some alone training. In order to be completely fit again, her training consisted of some body exercises, training with a usual training log.
'Im still not at 100%... Father was right to denounce me as clan head…' Hinata thought discouraged from her father latest remarks concerning the new Hyuuga Clan-head after him.
"You have become strong Hinata, I'm very proud of your training and your performances during the war. Yet there's one thing you just don't excel at. Strength that is. You are too soft. That's an attribute not fitted for somebody to lead a whole Clan. I will follow your development further, but I think your sister would be a better choice as of now."
Hinata remembered Her father's words after the last Clan-meeting. Hiashi Hyuuga tried to get in the right tracks with his daughter again, telling her that her personality is well received by him and telling her that he was sorry to lay such a heavy burden on her shoulder, which almost suffocated her when she was younger. And there was the problem with the infamous caged-bird seal of the side-branch of her family. Hinata thought of her cousin Neji…
Feeling happy and discouraged at the same Time Hinata just hugged her Father after the conversation was over.
"But I can't give up! HE would not give up, so I do the same thing!" She motivated herself again like she did many times thinking of Naruto. "There must be a way to remove this Seal!"
After hours of thinking and training she decided to call it a day for training.
The time now being noon, she decided it was time for some lunch. She slandered through the streets of the new Konoha, making her way towards her favourite bakery.
Inside she initiated a conversation with the shop owner, an older lady called Koyute. Koyute had a long face and wore her black-greyish hair in a ponytail.
"Hello Koyute! How is the business going?" She asked the female owner of the bakery with a sincere and chirpy voice.
"Oh, Hello Hinata! It is getting there. Slowly and slowly working our way up you know. Glad you asked though hihi!" The older woman answered with a smile on her face.
After eating her lunch, which consisted of her favourite cinnamon rolls, she made her way back to the Hyuuga estate. Turning around the corner Hinata saw a person with blonde hair having his back towards hair, moving in the same direction as herself. "EEK-"
"Huh? I could have sworn I heard something behind me. I can feel a presence too…" Naruto who just finished eating his favourite ramen dish at his favourite eating place was on his way to the grave of his old Master, which he hadn't visited in a long time, before starting his training. Still being turned towards the noise he just heard, he now moved in that direction to inspect what was going on here.
Realizing what the presence was, Naruto spoke up again. "Wait Hinata? What are you doing here?" He asked his friend in a puzzled demeanour.
"Na…Naruto-Kun!" Was the only thing Hinata answered, blushing after getting identified. "I…I just fi... finished Lunch and wh… what about you?" Answering him in a quiet voice, with her fingers pressing together, trying to oppress her nervous state.
"Same Story here! I got out of the hospital today and after talking with Kakashi-sensei so long I got really hungry. At least no more hospital food for me! Haha!" Naruto said while his left hand stroked the back of his head.
Hinata's eyes moved from his grinny face to his missing arm, starting to frown. "A… Are you alright Na… Naruto-Kun?" 'Good Job Hinata! You cannot even pronounce his name without stuttering and you fought beside him multiple time during the war! This has to stop somehow…' Her inner voice told her while asking Naruto for his wellbeing.
"I'm fine Hinata don't worry. As a matter of fact, I will train today! But what about you? You're all red, looks like you're feverish!" Naruto emitted, showing his care for his friends.
"Whaa... I… I'm fine Thanks!" Hinata quickly said, almost shouted hearing the sincerity in Naruto's voice. 'He Cares! About me! He is so nice…' Hinata's blush knowing no end, quite the opposite in fact, as it grew even redder. 'And I'm still having this same feeling I had all these years standing next to him…'
"Great! You're looking good aswell!" Naruto spat out, not noticing what he was saying to her, dense as always.
Hearing that, Hinata was not far away from fainting on the spot, but after everything that happened before, she could stay her ground and keep herself from fainting in front of her big love. 'H…. He really thinks so?!'
'Weird. Did I miss something or did i say something bad which could have made her upset? Man I'm so stupid I can't believe me.' Naruto told himself after Hinata tensing on the spot, looking away embarrassed and becoming even redder if that's even possible.
"Uhm Hinata…?" He carefully asked waiting for her to speak.
Hinata looked at him. Naruto didn't know what was happening to him. When he looked into her lavender orbs, an unknown feeling rushed through his body. He was now blushing a bit too.
"Uhm… I… I have to go off for training now… see you around I guess?" He chuckled, ruffling the back of his head. Turning around, continuing on his path like he always did.
'Man that was weird… I never felt any of this before… but she looked really beautiful back there…' Her midnight blue hair, her pale face and her lavender eyes on his mind.
'Focus! I need to Train! No second thoughts!' He cleared himself again, mentally preparing to step near Jiraiyas grave and then to start his new training.
Hinata was still standing there blushing, completely being taken aback for what just happened. She continued on her way home with a trance-like posture.
A/N:
So what did you think? My first ever chapter on this site! I'm glad I've done it though as it took me some time writing this. Hit me up on anything you might think concerning this story. Literally anything. Also im glad for any form of suggestions, criticism or any other kind of feedback!
Also I need to say that I don't really decided what I'm gonna do with the other Naruto Characters as Naruto and Hinata are the Protags of this story.